Social media adverts promoting weight-loss drugs have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after the regulator concluded that campaigns by Chequp, SkinnyJab and MedExpress broke the law as well as advertising rules.
The watchdog said the promotions were unlawful because they marketed prescription-only medication directly to the public. The ASA also criticised what it described as “irresponsible” tactics used in some of the adverts.
MedExpress advert aimed at new mothers
One banned MedExpress advert was targeted at new mothers and showed a woman taking a mirror photo of herself alongside the caption: “I wish I knew sooner that I could lose post-baby weight with a medicated weight loss treatment from MedExpress.”
The ASA said the advert encouraged new mothers to prioritise weight loss through medication, exploited insecurities around body image and reinforced pressure to conform to body stereotypes.
It was also deemed irresponsible because weight-loss medicines include warnings for those who are breastfeeding.
MedExpress argued the advert did not explicitly tell mothers that losing weight should be a priority after giving birth, and said it had not intended to use gender stereotypes.
Chequp and SkinnyJab promotions also ruled against
The watchdog also upheld complaints about an advert by Chequp, finding it “irresponsibly exploited people’s insecurities” about body image by suggesting there was a stigma attached to being a certain size.
The Chequp advert showed a woman looking at herself in a mirror with the text: “I don’t want to be skinny. I just don’t want to be the biggest person in the room”.
In response, Chequp said it had deliberately featured someone who appeared significantly overweight, and argued the advert did not imply being overweight was undesirable or encourage people of a healthy weight to lose weight.
An advert from SkinnyJab featuring its chief executive talking about weight-loss medication was also banned. SkinnyJab said it did not believe the social media content was an advert, but the ASA decided it amounted to marketing material.
Crackdown on ads for prescription-only weight-loss medication
The ASA said the bans come as part of continuing action against advertising that promotes prescription-only weight-loss medication, and noted it is working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the General Pharmaceutical Council.
ASA regulatory projects manager Jess Tye said: “Both the law and our rules make clear that prescription-only medication (POM) cannot be promoted directly to the public.”
She added: “Today’s rulings also send a clear message that it’s not acceptable for ads to play on people’s insecurities around body image.” She said the issue remains a priority, with further work under way to protect the public from irresponsible and illegal adverts for prescription-only weight-loss medication.
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